


The Darkest Nights (Revised)

by Ziirroh



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, GrimmRWBY AU, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-03-21 01:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13730634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziirroh/pseuds/Ziirroh
Summary: There are Humans and  there are Faunus, then there are the Cursed. People who have the potential to become the very monsters they fight, cursed with the darkness of a Creature of Grimm. Ruby Rose has been Cursed since birth; a Grimm-born known as abominations of the world. Within her body is a constant struggle for control and freedom. She does her best to keep her curse hidden from the rest of society, but there are some nights it overcomes her.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo~  
> This is indeed an edited and revised edition of the original story I posted on ff.net, with some chapters containing more details, or just complete changes to certain segments altogether.  
> For those who are coming from ff welcome back, old friends.  
> As for those who are new to me and my ways of writing, strap your butts down for a long wait, because ff folks have been waiting literal years for the next new chapter of this story hahah (such loyal folks y'all are, I really appreciate it <3). Basically meaning that these revised chapters won't be coming out in rapid fire or whatever.  
> Anyways, thank you for taking an interest in this story and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Grimm, often known as the creatures of darkness; the monsters of destruction. They are soulless entities that thrive to eliminate man from the world’s existence. 

When man was born from dust, these harbingers of fear sought to destroy everything and anything that pertained to mankind. However, man was persistent and passionate in surviving against such monsters. 

Using their resourcefulness, mankind forged a new power to combat the darkness. Dubbing this newfound force of nature as Dust. Now equipped to defeat and defend from the Grimm man could create a temporary peace, and in its course, they built civilizations and forged cultures. 

Of course, this change did not come without repercussion, for the Grimm were just as resourceful.

It is lost in the history of mankind when or how the first event occurred, but the Grimm became capable of infecting their darkness into a person. As if in retaliation to their dwindling numbers, the Grimm evolved to remedy the loss. 

Humans and Faunus alike could be cursed by a Creature of Grimm. Over time they would lose all sense of self and become a creature of destruction. Although man was persistent, and able to weaken the curse, it could never truly be eliminated.

Those infected with the darkness were simply labelled as “Cursed”. Cursed ones often displayed traits specific to the Grimm they were cursed by. 

The most common features the Cursed could have were growing bone like masks over their faces, their eyes glowing crimson, and at times a black cloud would surround them during the moments of these transitions. Depending on which creature they took after, someone who was Cursed could behave similarly to its primal ways.

There are various ways in which one could become Cursed, with only three being commonly discovered. Outside of these three it is unknown if there are any other methods.

The most common of the three is to receive a Curse through a bite. Although wounds inflicted by claw, tusk, stinger, and other such methods are not capable of cursing a person. It is believed that there is a certain venom released from the saliva of a Grimm that can cause the curse to be inflicted. A venom made of a darkness that can ignore the effects of Aura, even if the victim is at full strength.

Due to the way it is received, those who are bitten are able to have the effects of a curse counteracted with the help of modern medicine and Dust. However, they must be treated within a certain time frame for the treatment to take full effect. 

Another method of being Cursed is through the literal sense of the word. It doesn’t happen as often as getting bitten and thus it is considered a rare case.

Grimm that are not able to inflict a curse through a bite are more likely to use this approach. This form of the curse is easier to control, as there isn’t any actual darkness within the person’s body, but unlike a bite there is no way to cure it. 

Another downfall to this method is that a person cursed in this way can have a weaker Aura than average, making them far more susceptible to Grimm attacks and illnesses. 

A final process for becoming cursed only occurs when new life is introduced into the world. When a child is born with the curse. In cases like these the victims are usually dubbed as Grimm-born. 

Characteristics that the other Curses carry can be seen in Grimm-born, but what makes them even more unique is the capability to transform into the Grimm itself. 

What type of Grimm a person can become is not known until the moment the transformation occurs, and it can take several years before the symptoms can develop.   
Some consider it as some sort of mutation in the genetic blueprint, but many agree with the concept that there are two beings sharing one vessel. 

A child of Dust with a pure soul and a creature of Grimm that lacks a soul. How it is possible for two extremely conflicting existences to share one body remains unanswered.

A Grimm-born’s strife often ends undesirably for the child of Dust. There has never been any record of a Grimm-born that has overcome the dark creature within; out of the few instances a Grimm-born has been documented. 

Any tales about Grimm-born would ultimately end with the Grimm usurping control over the shared vessel or the body being destroyed by the two conflicting hosts. 

Grimm-born children have often been feared and are dubbed as monsters, being considered worse than the creatures of Grimm themselves. This idea stems from the paranoia that when a person’s Grimm conscience gains control it then provides the Grimm with an aura, which they can then use against mankind. 

With this fear there came lack of reason. With this lack of reason man believed that the best “cure” for a Grimm-born should be death.

It was not unreasonable, then, for a mother to want to protect her child from such dangers. 

When Summer Rose had discovered her young daughter, Ruby Rose, to be a Grimm-born she was fearful. 

Not of her child, but rather _for_ her. 

She was aware that the rest of the world would see her daughter as a monster. And so, not wanting Ruby’s condition to be discovered, Summer decided to take matters into her own hands. 

After much debate with her husband, Taiyang, they eventually came to an agreement. Summer would take Ruby with her to an old family cabin, secluded in a forest far from their town on the island of Patch. She would raise Ruby there until she was able to learn more about what it means to be a Grimm-born and how to control it.   
For several years the two lived relatively in peace, with rare visits from Taiyang and their elder daughter Yang. 

Ruby had learned ways to keep the Grimm within her from surfacing every day, but on certain nights the strength of the curse would overwhelm her. 

It was on one such night that Ruby’s life would change.


	2. A Night To Look Forward To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh! What's this? A legit update? You bet yer bottom dollar it is!  
> Had to post this before I try to take it through another bout of editing hell lol.  
> Anywho, I'll talk a lot more about stuff at the end.

The moon hung high in the night sky. Its shattered pieces drifting and fading, blending in with the inky darkness surrounding it. 

Ruby sat on the ledge below a large window, her face illuminated by the distant glow of the lamps on the campus below along with the moon itself. The window dominated the area between team RWBY’s bunk beds, creating space for a small desk that was situated before it.

Watching the moon was sometimes a mesmerizing activity for her. Ruby recalled the nights she had spent observing it waxing and waning. How her family would gather around, huddled close together beneath a warm blanket while looking up to stargaze. After a while it was just herself and Yang who had secretly stayed up past their bedtime. Until, eventually, those nights were mostly spent alone. 

For most people the moon wouldn’t hold such importance, but for Ruby the moon served as a memento.

Closing her eyes, she sighed, taking in the stillness of the night and the soft snores of her sleeping teammates.

Nearly a year has passed since team RWBY had formed on that fateful initiation day. Together the girls had progressed considerably in their strength and knowledge since their first week. 

Sure, they may have thwarted whatever villainous deeds Torchwick and his posse were up to many times, but there was always more experience to obtain. For now, they felt prepared for anything that would come at them.

Ruby had grown past most of her juvenile behavior over the months. She understood now more than ever the importance of her responsibilities as team leader. She knew that being a leader also meant she needed to be seen as a more reliable Huntress, so her childish demeanor diminished though it wasn’t completely gone.

She took pointers from other Huntsman; those that were her seniors and even the ones who were on a similar level as herself. They helped her understand how to balance and separate the roles between leader and friend. Knowing when it was the appropriate time to let loose and when she needed to be focused or at least behave more seriously. 

Her professors were also a huge help in helping her understand that a leader meant more than just barking commands at her partners. It meant bonding and understanding one another. Learning about each other’s shortcomings and strong points and how to utilize them during combat. Turning characteristics once viewed as drawbacks into the team’s strength through synchronized tactics.

Hearing a strangled snort Ruby was pulled away from her thoughts. She opened her eyes and looked up to her sister’s bunk bed. The first thing she noticed was the mess of wavy blonde curls that cascaded over the edge of the bed. 

Yang laid sprawled out on her bed, somehow comfortable despite the bottom half of her body nearly hanging over the edge. She had kicked most of her blanket off causing the cloth to hang precariously over the foot of the bed, looking like a curtain over the canopy for the bed below. 

When her soft snoring resumed Ruby took it as a sign that her sister remained oblivious to the environment around her. She then directed her gaze toward the bed below and its occupant. 

She could see Blake’s feline ears faintly outlined by the glow of the moon. 

Ever since the team had found out about her Faunus heritage, Blake had learned to become more comfortable with leaving her ears revealed when around her teammates. As far as they could tell, no one aside from team JNPR and a few friends were aware of this secret.

Blake had told them that one day she would stop hiding them, but for the time being she felt more comfortable only letting those she could trust know who she really was. 

One of Blake’s ears twitched ever so slightly as one of Yang’s snores became particularly loud again. Ruby always found it adorable when Blake’s feline ears would move like that. 

It happened most often when she was reading. Blake would be so immersed in the world of her novel that she wouldn’t realize how she absentmindedly let her ears follow the direction of any noise in their room. It was often very subtle but Ruby always noticed it.

Turning away from the window Ruby placed her feet on the carpeted floor, her gaze resting upon the final member of the team, her partner. 

Long silvery tresses seemed to shine like a beacon in the dark room, the moonlight giving it a seemingly luminescent glow. 

Weiss was laying on her side facing towards Ruby, so she was given the rare opportunity to study her partner’s features without the worry of a callous remark. 

She knew that Weiss was very attentive to her appearance and it always astounded Ruby how impeccable she would appear every morning. Not a single strand of hair out of place or shadowy bags under her eyes. 

It was honestly refreshing to meet someone who took care of themselves not just for the sake of others’ opinions. Weiss never cared too much about the judgement of others, especially if they were just being plain rude, but she would always lecture Ruby about the importance of self-care. As Huntresses it was important to remain in tip top shape.

Weiss’ lips twitched slightly, catching Ruby’s eye as she watched a small smile form the other girl’s lips. She mirrored the action with her own smile. She hoped that Weiss was enjoying a good dream.

Seeing Weiss’ smile reminded her of a time when Jaune had told her about her partner’s previous career as a singer. It was often done for charity events, and on other occasions it was done simply because Weiss felt like it. 

After learning this information Ruby had immediately attempted to ask if she could listen to her sing, but her partner refused each time by saying she would rather spend the time studying or training.

She figured that Weiss was probably just being shy so she never pushed the question further; mostly not wanting to annoy her teammate. Ruby hoped that one day she could get a chance to hear her sing.

Ruby’s gaze then flicked to the single scar that marred Weiss’ complexion, though Ruby never viewed it as an unsightly mark. To her it was proof that Weiss wasn’t just some pushover and took her career as a Huntress seriously. Ruby never had the nerve to ask how exactly she got the scar.

Ruby moved off the window sill and quietly approached Weiss’ bed and crouched down beside it. Her partner stirred a bit as if registering her presence despite remaining asleep. 

As she studied the scar more closely Ruby reminisced all of the times she noticed it when those icy blue eyes would look at her. 

That moment when Weiss protected her from that Nevermore during initiation while giving her a glare. Or even that time Ruby had told her how she liked her coffee and the other girl looked at her with a wry playfulness. 

There was so much they had shared together, with everyone, but Weiss had become one of the closest people to her (aside from Yang of course).

Weiss would sometimes bring up topics about her family and the certain internal struggles that had been going on since she was young. She wouldn’t go into extreme detail but it was always nice to know that her partner trusted her enough to confide with her sometimes.

When Ruby admitted how she was having trouble keeping up with her studies due to skipping at least a year’s worth of teaching Weiss was there to help. Her strict demeanor could be a bit whelming, but her confident belief that Ruby would reach the level of knowledge she needed kept their study sessions pleasant.

It was through these interactions that a strong bond was established between the two girls. On and off the battlefield Ruby knew that she could rely on Weiss to back her up when she needed it, and she was always more than willing to support Weiss in any way possible.

Of course, there were still some things that had to be kept hidden, but Ruby understood the importance of keeping this secret.

Although sometimes Ruby found herself wondering if these peaceful days would last.

One day she would be laughing and chatting freely about the most mundane things. Then another day she would find herself feeling extremely anxious. Wondering if the secrets she kept would somehow be revealed through a careless slip of the tongue. As if the next word she said could ruin everything.

Without much thought Ruby reached out and gently ran her fingers through the snowy locks of hair. Weiss’ hair was incredibly soft, probably even softer than Yang’s (and she took really good care of her hair) and Ruby observed the way it slipped through her fingers like silk. 

Ruby hummed a tune quietly to herself as she watched Weiss relax into the caress with a soft sigh. 

However, the pleasant moment didn’t last as a presence suddenly obstructed Ruby’s mind causing her to inhale sharply. 

She immediately withdrew her hand from Weiss and stood up while using some of the speed from her Semblance. She backpedaled away from the bed as she found herself beginning to pant heavily. 

Ruby grasped at her head in vain as a headache slowly grew. “No, no, NO. Not right now!” She thought and nearly growled aloud from the sharp pain that came in response. 

Staggering over to the bathroom, she struggled with a dark haze creeping at the edges of her vision. Ruby managed to quietly stumble inside and close the door before turning on the light. She immediately locked her eyes onto the mirror above the sink and saw her reflection.

Her hair had grown a bit longer than its usual short length and it had gained a deeper shade of black that even concealed the red streaks at the tips. Her eyes; always a vibrant silver, was now becoming a silvery pink as a red tint began spreading from the edges of her irises. 

Her breathing was turning more erratic as the air she inhaled seemed to become scarce of oxygen. She felt panic grip her throat and it only seemed to make the process accelerate as she continued to watch her reflection. 

She could feel her teeth gradually grow as a pain started in her gums, and when she opened her mouth it revealed larger and sharper looking canines. 

In her mind she felt something prodding at her thoughts as if seeking for a way to enter her consciousness.

“Everything is fine. I am fine.” She said in a harsh whisper to herself as her expression turned into a grimace. 

Ruby hissed at her own reflection, bearing spite towards the thing that was trying to take over. 

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her breathing and remembered the simple exercises Yang had taught her. She started counting down from 30 and had to repeat the count a few times as the pain would make her forget what number she was on.

Gradually she felt the tightness in her chest loosen as her breathing evened out. When she felt she had mostly stabilized she then chanced a look into the mirror. 

What she saw reflected on its surface was a normal teenage girl. No abnormal eyes, no sudden change in hair color, and her teeth were their normal rounded shape. A sheen of sweat covered her skin, the only apparent trace of the episode ever occurring. 

After taking a shaky breath Ruby turned on the faucet and washed her face off with cold water. The coolness was soothing and Ruby hadn’t realized how warm her skin had become from the whole ordeal.

After drying her face, she looked in the mirror one last time to ensure that she looked fine before turning away and flicking the light switch off.

She opened the door carefully and peeked into the room. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness she scanned it with bated breath. Nothing stirred and no one addressed her presence, much to her relief.

She proceeded into the room cautiously as she was still anticipating somebody springing up from bed at a moment’s notice, catching her in the act.

Once she was certain the coast was clear she decided that she had stayed up long enough for tonight and clambered up to her suspended bunk bed.

She paused a moment during her climb to take one final look at the slumbering heiress below and the memory of what had just occurred made her frown as she swiftly climbed into bed. 

She laid down on her back and stared at the dark ceiling. She contemplated on whether to cover herself with a blanket, but she still felt warm from her recent episode. Instead she continued staring up at nothing until her eyelids began drooping shut. 

She thought about the moon and its entrancing glow before drifting into slumber.

When Ruby awoke her eyes slowly fluttered open as they adjusted to the morning light. It was calm and quiet in the room. A good indicator that no one else had woken up yet.

She remained still for a while longer, feeling her chest rise and fall with each even breath. Several minutes ticked by before she finally pushed herself up and moved to the edge of the bed. 

Carefully climbing off she glanced around and could tell that the others had not budged from their beds. She then grabbed her uniform from a wardrobe and made her way to the bathroom to freshen up and change. When she reentered the room moments later she went back to the large wardrobe the team shared and retrieved her beloved cloak from it. 

She was glad Headmaster Ozpin allowed students to wear personal accessories along with their uniforms. What someone wore could tell a lot about that person.

Ranging from the importance of the item to just an expression of self. 

Clasping her cloak onto her uniform Ruby turned around in preparation to wake the others only to find that one of them had already woken. 

Blake sat up in her bed and was looking across the room blearily. Her feline ears were folded limply atop her head, only perking up briefly when she did a full body stretch while crawling across the bed. 

Ruby giggled at the sight. Blake’s stretch had an uncanny resemblance to an actual cat. The noise of her laughter caused Blake’s feline ears to flick about, searching for the source of the sound. She looked over at Ruby with a tired gaze, and after taking a brief moment to register her leader’s face she gave a smile.

“Good morning, Ruby.” She said, her mouth opening wide as a long yawn followed after her greeting.

“Heheh. Morning, Blake!” The older girl nodded in acknowledgment before bringing her legs over the edge of the bed. Once she managed to stand up she then proceeded to prepare herself for the day.

“One down, two to go.” 

Looking at the bed above Blake’s Ruby placed her hands on her hips and held a determined expression before moving towards it. 

Yang could be a particularly difficult person to deal with in the morning. Some days she could wake up as early as Ruby, but most mornings she would stubbornly stay in bed for as long as she could. 

Ruby first attempted to gently prod at the blonde, causing her sister to stir and groan. Well, she was somewhat awake at least. It was safer to make sure Yang was conscious to some degree before trying to wake her. The last time their dad had failed to do that resulted in his favorite shirt catching fire.

“Yaaang~ Wakey, wakey.” She said in a sing-song tone. 

Yang merely grunted at her before turning over on her side to face away from Ruby. The young girl wouldn’t be deterred however as she used the momentum of her turn to push Yang a bit further. 

“Time to rise up sunshine!” She said a bit louder as her sister toppled over the edge of the bunk and landed on the floor with a cushioned thud.

Pushing herself up with a groan Yang glared at her little sister who smiled innocently at her. “Geez, sis. Thanks for the wake-up call.” 

“No problem! It’s the least I could do as a responsible leader.” Ruby said while still holding a smile.

Shaking her head and grumbling to herself as she rose off the ground Yang then went about the room to gather her uniform, roughly ruffling Ruby’s hair when she passed her.

“Hey!” Ruby said with a pout as she tried to reorganize her now messy locks.

“That’s karma for shoving me over.” Yang told her with a grin.

She grabbed a small basket from one of the desks that contained various products she used for her hair. Yang was always a stickler when it came to taking care of her hair, so she kept her personal products separate from the others to prevent anyone else from using them by accident. 

The door to the bathroom opened as Blake stepped out, now donning her uniform and a black bow that covered her Faunus ears.

“Morning, Blakey.” Yang said cheerfully as she walked past her to the bathroom, receiving a smile and nod from Blake.

Ruby watched for a bit as Blake set her pajamas aside and went about tidying her bed before settling on it with a book from one of the shelves. Ruby then turned her attention to the last slumbering member of the team. 

Her partner rested peacefully and was surprisingly not woken by all the noise from waking up Yang. 

After being together on a team for so long Ruby had grown accustomed to everyone’s morning rituals. 

Blake often awoke on her own so Ruby usually didn’t have to bother, but when she did sleep in late it didn’t take much coaxing to get her up. Calling her name would often rouse her, even from the deepest of slumbers.

Opposite of that was Yang, who needed some sort of push, especially when she was being particularly lazy. After she had developed a preference to sleep in for as long as she could get away with, the team would sometimes have to race to their first class in order not to be late. 

As for Weiss, Ruby found that awakening her wasn’t very difficult to achieve either.

Ruby stood by her partner’s bed and spoke in a gentle tone while gently touching her shoulder. “It’s time to wake up now, Weiss.” 

She watched as the girl began to stir, and her eyes fluttered open to gaze tiredly up at Ruby. Weiss’ nose wrinkled in distaste as she squinted at the bright sunlight filtering in through the curtains. 

“Mmh, morning Ruby.” Weiss said as she sat up and stretched her arms above her head before lowering them to stifle a yawn.

Ruby had discovered that when it came to waking up Weiss a loud, abrasive wake-up call wasn’t what she needed. She had learned the hard way when one morning, after using a whistle to wake up her team, Weiss had snatched it from her grasp and threw it out the window. When Ruby was unable to find it, she awoke the stern heiress the next morning in a timid manner, much like how she woke her up now. 

Weiss later mentioned that it probably was due to her upbringing in the mansion. There were maids and butlers, and usually one of them would come to her room to awaken her in a similar method. Since it was an everyday occurrence it was something she had grown accustomed to. 

Ruby’s thoughts were interrupted by the emergence of her boisterous sister who reentered the room while whistling an upbeat tune. As she was putting on her black fingerless gloves she glanced over at the two partners, taking note of the much kinder awakening Weiss was receiving. 

“Oh? The Ice Queen gets special treatment while I’m tossed to the side like a salad.” The blonde feigned hurt as she clutched a hand over her heart dramatically. “My own family. How could you?”

Ruby giggled at Yang’s antics, while Weiss stared blankly at her with a distasteful expression from the ‘Ice Queen’ remark. Blake smiled in amusement, though her eyes were still glued to her book. 

“Sis, stop being such a drama llama. It’s not my fault you won’t get up on the first try.”

Yang chuckled, dropping her act. “Well, sorry I need my beauty sleep.”

“Beauty sleep, huh?” Blake said with a quirk of her brow.

“Yep.” Yang replied, now moving her attention onto Blake. “Its hard work being beautiful, y’know.”

“Oh really?” Blake said, finally removing her eyes from the page to look at Yang skeptically.

Yang perked up at the brief attention, using the opportunity to distract her partner out of reading by draping herself dramatically across her bed and going into a rant.

Ruby watched the two in amusement before the sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention. Turning around she saw Weiss looking at her expectantly and realized that she was still standing in the way. 

“Oops! Sorry, Weiss.” Ruby said as she hastily moved out of the way, allowing Weiss to get up and prepare for the day.

Once everyone was done with what they needed it didn’t take long for them to finish tidying up the room and gather their school supplies. 

As they exited their room instead of going down the hall Ruby went towards the door across from theirs and knocked. It opened shortly after, revealing Jaune and the others dressed in their uniforms and prepared for class. 

“Hey girls.” Jaune said with an enthusiastic wave.

“Good morning everyone.” Pyrrha greeted with a nod.

“Are you guys ready to smash those quizzes?” Nora said enthusiastically as she slammed a fist into her hand.

“Nora, I hope you know there won’t be any need for actual smashing.” Ren sighed, but smiled nonetheless.

“I think so…? I’m still not sure about a few things.” Jaune said with a nervous laugh as they all began their trek to class.

Moving through the halls everyone easily fell into conversation. They talked about various topics as they made their way across the campus and to the cafeteria for some breakfast. 

Jaune, Nora, and Ruby were talking about the upcoming quizzes and going over the study material off the top of their heads. Yang would usually either be helping them or teasing the two about how unnecessarily anxious they were being. While Pyrrha and Nora would attempt at cheering them up with encouraging words or promises of destruction towards the cause of their woes.

Weiss, Ren, and Pyrrha usually spoke about tactics for future missions. Trading ideas on maneuvers and strategies against certain Grimm. 

On occasion Ren, Ruby and Yang would ask Blake about novels she would suggest for them to read. Ruby mostly liked listening to Blake summarize the books she thought any of them would be interested in. 

The rest of the day went as it usually did. Port told his ostentatious tales of Grimm hunts, Oobleck zoomed about the room detailing historic events, notes had been taken, doodles were drawn, and students stressed over pop quizzes. 

The only slight variant to this daily routine would be the field trips and sparring lessons, though the field trips only happened on rare occasions. Ruby was grateful for those excursions, as it would allow her to stretch her legs and get out of the crowded classrooms. It also gave her the opportunity to fight with her darling Crescent Rose.

Fighting came much more easily to her than studying, but she could hear her dad’s stern tone reminding her that lessons were just as important as being out in the field.

The day seemed to be going by quickly when lunchtime arrived. 

Team JNPR and RWBY sat together at their usual table in the cafeteria. There would be an occasional visit from other students who would sit to chat with them briefly before joining another group. 

They usually held conversations about things that occurred earlier in the day, like their studies or funny mishaps with the professors. 

As Nora was retelling another variation of her reoccurring dream another student came up to the group, their presence giving off waves of excitement. 

“Hey! Are you going to watch the shooting stars?”

Nora paused her story and looked at the newcomer in earnest, her teal eyes shining with interest. The rest of the group looked at the messenger with curiosity.  
“Shooting stars? Tonight?” Jaune asked.

“No, not tonight. It’s going to occur a few days from now, after the weekend.” The student said.

“It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.” Blake said. Her attention no longer on the two books laid out before her.

“It would be grand to watch such an event take place.” Pyrrha said with a smile.

“It’s going to be awesome! There will be a new moon that night too, so there will hardly be any light to bother us from viewing the spectacular sight.” After saying this the student’s head perked up upon seeing someone else to announce the news to. They gave a quick wave to the group before promptly rushing away to flag down another student.

“Well, that was certainly…enlightening.” Weiss said.

“Oh, Ren! We should totally go watch the stars fall. I bet it’ll be amazing. Maybe even better than when I broke some of Weiss’ Dust bottles. Man was that one heck of a light show!” Nora bounced giddily in her seat as she rambled.

“I still can’t believe we’re even alive after that.” Weiss said incredulously as she shook her head.

“Sure, Nora, we’ll go. It should be a nice experience. Hopefully.” Ren said with a skeptic expression.

As the others delved back into their conversations and other activities, Weiss couldn’t help but notice the lack of input from a certain brawler and fearless leader. 

Looking in the direction of the two sisters she caught them whispering to each other. Whatever discussion they were having seemed pretty serious, since their expressions were rather solemn. Feeling curious she couldn’t help but put them on the spot.

“What are you two dunces talking about over there?” Weiss gave them a pointed look.

Having caught their attention the two girls looked up at her. Ruby’s eyes darted away as soon as she made eye contact, but the elder sister grinned at her harmlessly.  
“Oh nothing. Just talking about the shooting stars and all.”

Weiss squinted at the blonde suspiciously, not quite buying the excuse. “Well, what are you talking about that can’t be shared with the rest of the group?” She raised her voice demandingly, drawing the attention of the others at the table.

Yang chuckled a bit nervously and looked to her sister, who was looking back at her with a desperate expression, before turning back to Weiss. “Uh, well, ya see we were, ummm…” Yang stumbled over her thoughts as she tried to stall.

“Come on now, out with it!” Weiss looked smugly at Yang. She knew she had her cornered.

After a tense moment of silence Yang finally caved.

“Alright, alright! I was just saying to Ruby about how cozy it would be to lay on a blanket while watching the shooting stars.” Yang paused a moment, giving Weiss a mischievous smirk. “Especially if she were to lay with her partner.” Yang put a bit more emphasis in her last statement, implying a more suggestive meaning to it. 

She watched Weiss with a coy smile as the others at the table hid their smiles at the play on words.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang! That sounds so embarrassing when you put it that way.” Ruby whined pathetically before raising the hood of her cloak over her head and pulling it down to cover her face.

Weiss had been staring at Yang dumbfounded, but when Ruby had spoken she began to blush furiously. She locked a mean glare onto Yang. 

“Wha- How dare you insinuate such inappropriate things!” 

“I never said anything about inappropriate things.” Yang then held a hand over her mouth as she feigned a shocked gasp. “Oh, Weiss! What sort of things were you thinking about doing to my lil sis?” She then grinned mischievously and pointed double finger guns at Weiss.

Weiss practically screeched at the blonde, trying to swipe at her from across the table. Yang leaned away just barely out of the heiress’ reach, laughing all the while.  
The others attempted to stifle their own snickering behind their hands, with Jaune being unsuccessful and earning the angry girl’s attention next. 

“What’s so funny, Arc?” She said with a menacing glare.

“Uh, nothing!” Jaune yelped with a timid voice, shrinking away from the girl’s stare.

Meanwhile Ruby was blushing furiously under her hood. Of all the things her sister had to say it had to be something so awkward. 

Fortunately for Ruby she didn’t have to stick around too long to endure it as a chime sounded for the end of lunch. 

Using her Semblance Ruby rushed out of the cafeteria for her next class. Leaving rose petals in the wake of her still giggling friends.

As Ruby entered the classroom she found it devoid of students, only the professor was present. The professor was busy writing lecture notes on the digital blackboard only briefly looking away from their work to acknowledge Ruby. 

The young girl plopped down in her seat, expelling a heavy sigh. She was glad that she didn’t share this class with any of the others at the table. It would have been too embarrassing to deal with what Yang had said.

Ruby quietly groaned in frustration as she laid her cheek against the desk. Thanks to Yang, now her thoughts were a bit scrambled.

Then again, she was somewhat glad that Yang’s humorous attitude had come up with a convincing distraction, albeit an embarrassing one.

Ruby sighed heavily, earning the attention of the next student to enter the class and sit next to her.

“Is there something the matter, Ruby?” Velvet asked with a concerned expression.

Ruby sat up and waved her hands dismissively. “Ah, nothing’s wrong. I’m just a little exhausted from all the quizzes.” Ruby assured her.

Velvet nodded in understanding giving Ruby her space as she prepared her notes. 

Other students began to trickle into the classroom soon enough. As the class settled down and the lecture began she reminisced the conversation she had with Yang during lunch.

“Hey, are you going to be okay?” A concerned Yang asked quietly as the random student that abruptly joined their table left.

“Yeah, it’s just…I wish I could see the shooting stars with everyone. Since it’s going to happen on that night though I guess there’s no helping it.” Ruby sighed and slumped down into her seat a bit with a defeated expression. “I’m worried about what everyone’s going to think when we don’t show up on the roof. I feel like they’re going to find out what’s really going on. And I know that I just can’t just tell them I’m going to run around the woods as a...” Ruby let her words trail off, her brow furrowing. 

She didn’t need to finish her sentence for Yang to understand.

“Don’t worry about it RuRu. Your big sis will figure something out.” 

Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulder reassuringly.

“Thanks, Yang.” Ruby said with a small smile.

“So yeah, we’ll just use the same old excuse of going out for some family tradition.” Yang began. “It’s worked every time before, and it’s not entirely a lie, so why wouldn’t it work now? Besides, we have the headmaster of Beacon backing us up so there’s nothing to worry about.”

The sound of someone coughing loudly grabbed Ruby’s attention out of her reverie. She glanced at the time on her scroll and found that not enough minutes had passed since class began. She slouched in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. Velvet gave her a curious look but refrained from commenting on her behavior. 

Ruby still felt a bit paranoid that the plan wouldn’t work. That something would go wrong in some way. She just couldn’t shake the feeling off. 

Although, if it weren’t for her uncle Qrow and his affiliation with Ozpin it would be difficult for her to get by in the academy whatsoever. 

Outside of family, Ozpin was one of the only other people that knew of Ruby’s situation. It made it easier for her to be missing a couple of days when the headmaster was able to back your alibi. 

Before she could think about it any further the sound of someone clearing their throat made her look forward. She found her professor sternly watching her and Ruby immediately straightened up in her chair.

A couple of snickers could be heard from the other students, making her feel a bit embarrassed at being caught daydreaming. The professor shook their head with a smile, choosing not to berate her further and continued the lesson.

“I’ll talk to Yang about it later.” Ruby thought to herself as she started to pay attention and take notes.

Once classes were over for the day all Ruby wanted to do for the rest of the evening was find Yang, talk about the plan, and sleep. Though knowing her partner, Weiss would probably try to drag her off to the library to study or finish assignments. 

Ruby never really minded their study sessions, since she got to hang out with her best friend, but after the scene at lunch it would be kind of an inconvenience.

Upon entering her team’s room Ruby was surprised to find no one else was there. Usually at least one of her team members would be doing some sort of activity as she entered. 

Sweeping her gaze around the room she went to knock on the bathroom door, checking if maybe someone was in there. After waiting a moment without any response, she opened the door to find the small area empty. 

Standing there a bit dumbfounded, Ruby finally moved over toward her wardrobe to change into her pajamas. After hanging up her cloak she shut the wardrobe and looked around the room once more.

“Guess it wouldn’t hurt to take that nap first.” She said to herself with a small shrug and moved toward her bunk bed.

As she was preparing to climb up something stopped her. Her gaze fell down at her partner’s bed and an idea sprouted in Ruby’s mind. 

She weighed her options as she thought of sleeping in her partner’s bed and flushed at how that sounded; no thanks to Yang’s lunch room antic.

She waited a beat, trying to gauge how bad of an idea it would be, but as a yawn rose out of her mouth and exhaustion beckoned her to rest she came to a decision. 

Ruby grabbed a pillow from her bunk before falling forward in an inelegant fashion onto Weiss’ bed. She clutched her pillow tightly, burying her face in it as if she could hide from the anxiousness she was feeling.

It’s not like the bed was any different from hers since all their beds were exactly the same, but the knowledge that it was the one Weiss always slept in made it feel very different than hers. It may have also been due to the fact that Weiss’ bed was not suspended precariously by ropes.

Pulling the pillow away from her face, Ruby turned onto her side and looked around the empty room.

“This is how Weiss sees the room when she wakes up. It’s so different looking at it from down here.” She said with a quiet awe.

She squirmed a bit with a childish excitement. It felt weird sleeping on the bottom bunk like this. Ruby’s bed being suspended by thick ropes made it sensitive to any movement, but in Weiss’ bed there was none of that swaying that she had grown accustomed to whenever she shifted. 

Ruby didn’t want to make too much of a mess out of Weiss’ bed so she chose not to use the blankets to cover herself. 

Unconsciously she pressed her nose into Weiss’ pillow recognizing a scent that could only be mint shampoo. After getting into a comfortable position Ruby sighed contentedly and squeezed her own pillow that she still clutched close to her chest. 

She closed her eyes and only briefly opened them once after a moment to see if anyone would walk through the door, but eventually her eyelids became too heavy to open again and soon she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first things first, whoops hahah!  
> I know I took forever (I mean I did warn y'all I would), but tbh I didn't think I'd take this long to post up the first chap either. I've got excuses (work, depression, yada yada) but you all know it doesn't truly excuse my absence on this fic.  
> Let's proceed onto the appreciation shout outs:
> 
> NafCaX- I'm glad you found this interesting, even if I only had a prologue for forever hahah.  
> The_Gamer95- It's nice to know another reader from ff net has made their way here. I hope I can improve on the previous iteration of the story and get it to where I imagine to be as well.  
> PinkGuy- Yo, bruh, real talk. When I read your comment I was actually having a rough day, so when saw it it really cheered me up. Like, sometimes I do forget to take care of myself so the reminder was very much needed and very sweet.  
> Now the rest of my gratitude goes out to you other two commenters once again and all you folks that left kudos. Even though you don't leave a comment the kudos really do help to remind me that there are people still eager to see this story live on to its conclusion.
> 
> Alrighty, now that that's all out of the way I wanted to mention a few things about the direction this fic is *trying* to go.  
> I have plenty of ideas, it's mostly a matter of where, when, how and why. There are some ideas that will be replaced or removed entirely to either make way for new ones or just to clean the story up a bit. I've got a lot of things planned for Ruby, but in order to reach that the story and Ruby have to undergo some changes from their previous versions.  
> For instance, if you've read the original writing you may have noticed that I pretty much removed all of the super gayness Ruby has for Weiss. This doesn't mean that White Rose isn't happening, it just means all of that mushy stuff will happen a bit differently. It never felt right to me progressing their relationship the way I had originally written it, so I had to yeet it all out of this chapter lol.  
> Previous readers may have also noticed the flashback sequence is missing. Well, that's because I wanted to just go ahead and make them into separate chapters. I find it'll be easier for me to focus on everything when the word and page count don't seem as whelming. Plus I want to try a stretch some of the flashbacks a bit, so I'm kind of hoping doing this will motivate me to try and add more to the word count. Other than that I also just wanted to play around with the titles for each chapter. Don't judge me, hahah.  
> Okay, last bit of info for now. Originally this story was planned to be about 5 chapters, maybe 6 at most, but with the crap I keep making up I realized that wasn't going to cut it anymore. I don't really know how many chapters all of this will lead to but it's definitely not the original 5 I intended. I'm guesstimating it'll be closer to 10, though with the flashbacks being their own chapters it'll most likely go past that *shrugs*.  
> Once again, as always, thank you very much for taking the time to read this story (and my long ass monologue; this won't be the last lol). I appreciate any respectful feedback and welcome any questions pertaining to the story (or me, if you have any for me). Here's to hoping I get to work on that next chapter soon lmao.


	3. Stuck in a Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly but surely I will meet you there...

Ruby didn’t know when she fell asleep.

What she did know was how she had begged Yang to tell her a story before bed.

Ruby had been sitting on the bottom bunk of their shared bunk bed wrapped inside a blanket. The soft fabric surrounded her tiny frame as her face peeked out. She had a toothy grin on her face as Yang stood before her and was telling her a story.

She always loved it when Yang told her bedtime stories because she would often act them out. Whether it be the hero swinging a sword to vanquish their foe or even acting as the terrible beast the hero would be facing. 

It never ceased to amuse Ruby when Yang would pretend to be the monster kidnapping a princess. She would assault Ruby with tickles or blowing raspberries into her tummy.

Her eagerness to discover what would happen next to the hero kept her from falling asleep at first. But eventually she began to nod off after the climax of Yang’s story. She tried her best to fight off slumber but as soon as she let her guard down it captured her. 

She didn’t wake when Yang had finished the story nor when the blonde tucked her properly into bed before clambering up to her own.   
There were only dreams awaiting her. 

\-------

Everywhere it was dark. 

Ruby didn’t remember waking up.

She could feel her eyes straining in the darkness trying to gain a visual on something, anything, but there was only black.

Unable to see she tried to listen, hoping to catch a familiar noise like Yang’s snoring or Zwei barking at some random sound in the distance outside. To her dismay there was nothing to be heard. Not even a whisper of the breeze slipping through their bedroom window.

Ruby tried to speak and call out for her sister but even her own voice was soundless. Panic set in as she continued in a vain attempt at yelling and screaming. Trying to make herself heard.

In a way it had worked, but what reacted to her mute struggles wasn’t her sister.

She felt something touch her, although there was a small thought that told her whatever had done so wasn’t actually there.

Then suddenly the presence that came from the abyss began to engulf her entire being. She could feel an icy chill sink deep inside her bones, penetrating her soul and absorbing the ember of warmth it held.

It felt like something heavy was being weighed against her chest smothering her and pushing her deeper into the void. It was suffocating and despite her best attempts she couldn’t push back. 

Helpless, Ruby could only weakly resist against the unknown force until her consciousness succumbed to a slumber deeper than the last.

When Ruby woke again she felt dizzy and confused.

When she regained some focus she suddenly found herself rushing past a forest of trees. 

It was dark, but unlike the constricting void she had woken up in before she could actually sense the environment around her.

She could hear the crickets and the movement of the brush. At the edges of her vision she could faintly make out the weak glow of the moon; now a very thin slice of a crescent. She still couldn’t speak but at least now she could see and hear things.

Since she still felt kind of hazy she assumed that she had to be dreaming. It was the only reasonable explanation for why she would even be out of bed at all.

It was then she wondered why was she in a forest during the night, when the Grimm are up and about hunting for any sort of prey.

Though she understood the possible danger she was in she found that she couldn’t stop herself from the relentless path she was set on. She tried to turn her head or dig her heels into the ground to stop herself but her body didn’t respond to any of those actions. 

It was then she understood that she was trapped and was no longer in control of her own body. 

She felt something weighing down on her, the sensation being all too familiar as the memory of her time in the darkness came back. 

Panic was the first thing to overcome her state of mind when she realized this wasn’t a dream. Everything seemed familiar as she felt that she had been in this forest before, and the things she had seen so far attested to that.

She recognized the small telltale signs that she had been through this particular path in the past. The markings left on trees by her and her friends. The charred ash marks that stood out against a boulder where Yang had used her Semblance to punch it.

If she could just regain some amount of control she could still find her way back home.

With that thought she tried even harder at wresting for control, but every attempt she made seemed weak and futile. Whatever it was that was holding her hostage in her own body wasn’t going to give it up that easily. 

Although she wasn’t exhausted Ruby stopped trying. She wasn’t ready to give up yet, she was stubborn like that, but she knew that she wouldn’t win this fight. Not yet anyway.

Figuring that there wasn’t much else she could do she allowed whatever it was propelling her body forward to continue its course. 

Despite it being night time and the uncanny speed at which they were moving she was somehow able to catch certain details in her peripheral. It was as if time had slowed just enough for her to be able to take in the briefest of moments before they would disappear behind her.

She would catch small critters scurrying away from her vicinity and even caught a glimpse of a deer grazing nearby. Occasionally she would spot an owl swooping beneath the branches to catch its prey.

She then carefully observed the scenery that rushed around her. Maybe there would be some sort of landmark that she could recognize to help her figure out where exactly she was headed. 

Instead she realized something more disturbing. She wondered why she hadn’t noticed it before but also wished that she never had.

Everywhere she looked there seemed to be a dozen glowing red eyes that would occasionally appear in the distance. Some would be dangerously close while others remained far off.

Eyes like that could only belong to two things: a bunch of angry Yangs or the creatures of Grimm. She really wished it was the former but knew better than to pretend her sister also had a Semblance of cloning herself.

Whatever had control of her body didn’t seem fazed by the fact that they were surrounded by Grimm but Ruby didn’t fancy the idea of becoming monster chow in the near future. 

Once again Ruby’s sense of paranoia prompted her to make another attempt to regain control of her body. And once again she was met with that same force stamping down her efforts.

Any further resistance she was going to make ceased when a low rumbling voice echoed in her mind.

Mine now.   
Win fight. I keep.   
Can’t have back.   
Mine.   
Not yours.   
Go away.

Ruby had no idea who the voice belonged to. She wasn’t sure where it came from either. All she knew was that it resonated around her very soul when it spoke. 

There was no discernible gender to it, but because it sounded so guttural Ruby aligned it as male. 

Oddly enough, although she knew she had never heard that voice once in her life, it had seemed familiar. Almost like a long-lost friend. But from what she could tell this was definitely no friend of hers.

Coming out of her stupor she ignored the voice’s warning and persisted yet again for control. She heard a growl in response, but it didn’t come from within her consciousness like before. Instead, the sound came from outside. It came from her own body. 

Suddenly a long howl pierced through the silent night air only to be followed by several others. 

They were the cries of Beowolves. Ruby had recognized them from the movies and shows she’s seen on holo-vids. But she also knew them from the video lessons her dad would play sometimes at home.

It was then that the trees stopped rushing by as her body halted and then, much to Ruby’s dread, the same howl sounded from her own form. 

She didn’t have time to think about the implications of such a thing as her body surged forward once again. As she continued to observe in her mental prison the pieces began to connect. 

She soon felt her body coming to a slow trot as a clearing deep in the woods became visible. It was a small area containing a clear pond that reflected the light of the fireflies and the almost nonexistent waning moon. 

Pacing onward until she approached the edge of the pond Ruby found her focus being forced downward. 

She had caught a brief glimpse of the crescent moon reflecting in the water before her. What she saw after made her grow cold with fear.

All she could see were glowing red eyes staring right back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Meet you at the end of this chapter. Hah! *shot*  
>  Joke aside this honestly should've been out sooner but let's be real here, I'm really bad at staying busy with writing lol.  
> Didn't do anything super important in this chapter. Mostly just stretched it a bit with some extra detail in the beginning. It just felt waaaay too bland how it was before (it's almost embarrassing).  
> This also marks the first of the flashback chapters. Basically they will appear after every main story chapter unless I suddenly decide to be spontaneous (which I most likely won't). I haven't started editing the next chapter yet, but I will do my best to keep my lazy butt on it!  
> On a side note I noticed while editing this chapter that the relationship for Grimm-born peeps is almost like Venom. Just not as romantic as I've seen the Venom fandom make of it though hahah.  
> As always thank you for your time and support. You readers are such sweethearts, really. Ya'll spoil me *animu blushu*   
> (Okay. I'll get outta here with my bad sense of humor lmao)


End file.
